Willa Cather’s Literary Legacy Celebrated in Ancram

In a packed room at the Ancram Center for the Arts, the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather came alive as excerpts from her celebrated works were read aloud, eliciting nods, applause and moments of quiet reflection. The event on Sunday, July 14, was a testament to the enduring power of Cather’s prose, which continues to resonate 150 years after her birth.

Paul Ricciardi, co-director of the center, gave opening remarks, emphasizing the organization’s dedication not only to new works but also to honoring historical figures in the arts. This celebration was part of a broader initiative to recognize Cather’s unique contributions to American literature.

Peter Cipkowski, former town supervisor of Hillsdale, N.Y., and vice president of the Board of Governors of the Willa Cather Foundation, shared his personal connection to Cather. It began when a librarian recommended her books to his grandmother, a Polish immigrant, suggesting they were essential to understanding America. “Cather’s distinctive American voice, following in the footsteps of Henry James and Edith Wharton, has always been vital in understanding our nation,” Cipkowski said.

When his grandmother got older and lost her eyesight, Cipkowski would read her Cather aloud. For Cather’s 150th anniversary, Cipkowski’s goal is to expose more people to her work. “Cather wrote about American themes in a plain, clear way, with poignancy and a sense of humor,” Cipkowski said. 

Cather was born in Dec. 7, 1873, in the Back Creek Valley near Winchester, Va.. Her family moved to Nebraska when she was 9 years old, and while she spent most of her adulthood in the East, her work largely centered on life in the Great Plains. She won the Pulitzer in 1923 for “One of Ours,”a novel about Nebraska native Claude Wheeler set during World War I. She died at age 73 in New York City.

The evening’s readings, directed by playwright Darrah Cloud, (a volunteer for the Herald), who authored a musical based on “O Pioneers!,” featured actors Anne Undeland and Dean Temple, who brought to life selections from Cather’s works including, “O Pioneers!,” “Song of the Lark,” “My Ántonia” and more. Truman Capote’s recollection of meeting Cather as a young writer set the tone, underscoring her influence on American literature.

The audience was moved by the evocative passages, particularly a line from “O Pioneers!”: “Those who love and understand this country are the only ones who ever own it — for a while.” 

This event was part of a series of celebrations of Cather’s work held at various venues, including UCLA, Symphony Space and the New York Society Library in New York City, Boston’s Athenaeum,  ans Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, N.Y., all orchestrated by Cipkowski in his role with the Willa Cather Foundation.

For those interested in exploring Cather’s work further, the full script of the reading is available here. The next event in the 150-year celebration will take place at The Mount, in Lenox, Mass., on Aug. 21.